


1BR to Death

by Comet_Writer



Category: Boyfriend to Death (Visual Novels), Till Death Do Us Part (Visual Novel)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Drug Use, Drugging, F/M, Injury, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Multi, Other, Psychological Torture, Rape/Non-con Elements, Torture, Weapons, lovebomb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:21:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29297304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comet_Writer/pseuds/Comet_Writer
Summary: After losing your relationship and your job, you set out to find new beginnings in a new apartment complex. Luckily, your fellow tenants are there to make you feel very welcome.
Relationships: Lawrence (Boyfriend to Death)/Reader, Ren (Boyfriend to Death)/Reader, Ren/Strade (Boyfriend to Death), Strade (BTD/TNR)/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Reposted after I accidentally deleted it lol. I'm very new to this site, so let me know if you like the story so far!)

“Hello everyone,” a well-dressed gentleman started, catching the attention of everyone in the lobby of the dainty apartment complex. “My name is Rire. I’ll be showing all of you our room opening, as well as the common areas of the complex. If any of you have questions during the tour, feel free to ask me at anytime.” There was a silent agreement between the small crowd of about seven people before Rire continued briefly.

“Perfect. Right this way, please.”

You followed behind the crowd, looking around and zoning out a bit. How did you manage to get here again? A little bit of a reflection answered that right up. After getting publicly dumped by your ex, fired from your job, and having gotten tired of your family’s bullshit, you decided that it was finally time to move out, far away from where anyone would find you. The only person you had told your location to was your best friend, Chris King. And even then, you hadn’t told him exactly where you’d be living for fear that he’d crack and tell someone where you were. He, as much as you hated to admit it, was a bit of a pushover and couldn’t handle the pressure very well. You didn’t hold it against him.

Rire led the group through the common area, where the tenants seemed to be having a party. The gentle music made the transition from your thoughts to reality a lot smoother, and you were suddenly hit with the smell of baked goods and various entrees. Your mouth practically started watering. “Feel free to help yourself to something to eat or drink after the tour,” Rire said, looking in your direction and smiling lightly. It was hard to tell with his dark tinted sunglasses, but you were sure that the two of you had made eye contact. A shiver crept down your spine.

It didn’t take long for everyone to make it up the stairs to the empty one-bedroom apartment, and Rire let everyone look around and explore by themselves. It smelled like… fresh paint and the faintest hint of… bleach? Maybe they had to do some heavy cleaning in here from the last tenant. Despite that, the apartment was a nice fit for you.

“Are there any rules that we have to follow?” you heard someone ask Rire. He nodded and folded his hands together.

“Excellent question. We have only two rules here. No pets, and no loud music after 7pm. We go by a one-warning system with pets, and a three strike system with music. If you can’t follow the rules, we’d have to kindly ask you to leave.”

You could already see some of the people of the group getting a little uncomfortable or annoyed with those rules, opting to go down to the common area and eat with the other tenants. Had they not read the rules on the apartment listing before they got here? You shook your head and continued looking around, and eventually, your eyes came across something interesting. A strip of the wall seemed to have been repaired and painted over. ‘ _What could’ve happened here…?’_ you thought to yourself, running your fingers gently over it.

“Are you finding everything alright?” A deep voice asked, seemingly right in your ear. You jumped and turn to face Rire, who was still standing in his spot across the room. It took a moment for you to try and process what had just happened, and, even though you still don’t understand how he could’ve sounded so close, you nodded.

“E-everything is alright sir, thanks… I was just wondering what happened here? There’s an inconsistency in the wall,” you explained, pointing at the divot for Rire to see. He examined it for a moment. “The last people to live here were… quite the troublemakers. We did our best with the repairs. Hopefully this doesn’t deter you from considering your stay.”

“Oh-, of course not! This is a really beautiful apartment, the people and the environment feels so welcoming. I don’t see why anyone _wouldn’t_ want to live here.” You looked around and suddenly noticed that no one was in the room but you and Rire. Everyone must’ve went downstairs for snacks. How odd. He must’ve noticed your confusion, patting you on the shoulder and chuckling. “Don’t let me hold you here too long. Go ahead and join the party if you’d like. I have some stuff to take care of, but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

You nodded, taking in the interior of the apartment once more before going downstairs to eat. You weren’t much for talking so you stayed to yourself, eating baked goods and relaxing at one of the tables that were set out.

Maybe about 5 or 10 minutes in, someone stood in front you, blocking the warmth of the sun from your body. You looked up, greeted by the face of a man with greasy chocolate brown hair and beautiful golden eyes. He had a perfect grin, and you couldn’t help but smile a bit too upon seeing him.

“Hi! My name is Strade, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand, and you shook it gently.

“Y/N” you replied.

“Y/N… That’s a beautiful name, it’s very fitting.”

“Thanks haha. My uh, my mom gave it to me,” you mustered out. You were about to facepalm yourself until Strade started laughing, a booming laugh that briefly scared the shit out of you, and made the other tenants and guests look over into your direction for a moment. You let out an awkward little laugh as you blushed from the embarrassment, putting your head down a bit.

“That was a good one! I can already tell you’d be a great candidate to stay here. I hope Rire chooses you.”

“I hope so too, I already like it here a lot. The apartment is great, and you’re so nice!”

“Awh, I’m flattered~” Strade scratched the back of his head, only averting his gaze to check his phone. “Ah- I’ve gotta go take care of something. Good luck on getting the apartment (Y/N)!”

“Thank you! I hope I do so I can talk with you again!” You waved at Strade as he left, sighing after a moment. That was nice…


	2. Moving In

A week and a half later, you got an email stating that you’d been chosen to stay at that fancy apartment complex you visited. Another week after that, you were loading all of your belongings into the room. You were about to go get your clothing suitcases from the trunk when you passed by Strade. He did a double take, turning around and opening his arms. “Heeey, (Y/N)! You made it!” He squeezed you into a tight hug before you could even get a word out. He was… warm, and smelled of machine oil, sweat, and copper. An odd combo, but you just figured he liked working with cars or something.

“Do you need help moving anything in? I don’t have any plans for the day, I’d be more than happy to help,” Strade offered, letting you go so you could catch your breath.

“I-I wouldn’t mind the help at all~.” You blushed. You had to admit, Strade’s extroversion was quite a turn on. He was confident, and kind so far. Maybe you should give this some more time before you get too invested. You did just recently get dumped after all, and you didn’t wanna move out when you’d just gotten such a nice apartment.

You led Strade to your car, and the two of you worked for about two hours or so moving your stuff into the apartment. He tried to make small talk throughout the entire process. “So… Where are you moving in from?”

“Somewhere miles and miles away from here. I uh… I don’t like to think about it,” you responded. He looked sympathetic, placing one of your boxes on the floor and putting a hand on your shoulder. “I understand. If you want to talk about it sometime, just know that I’m willing to listen, okay?” He was looking right into your eyes with his own beautiful amber colored ones, and you were absolutely mesmerized. You didn’t even realize you’d gone silent until Strade started laughing. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me now if you don’t want to, Shatzi~. Maybe another time.” He winked, sending a warmth creeping across your cheeks and down your neck. “O-okay,” you managed to stutter out, smiling.

“You know…” Strade started as the both of you finally put the last boxes in your living room. “Me and the other tenants wanted to throw a bit of a welcoming party to congratulate you on getting the apartment. Do you think you’d be able to make it?”

“A welcoming party? For me?” You’d hardly ever been to any parties, let alone had one thrown for you since you were 6. ‘ _It’s time for a change of pace… Get out of your comfort zone,’_ you thought to yourself before nodding. “I’d love to come! Thank you, I mean- I don’t even know what to say, I-“ Strade cut you off with a gentle finger to your lips. “You don’t have to say anything hahah. It’s a pleasure to have you here and we’d just love to show you that you’re a welcome part of this little community that we have here. Plus, you’ll get a chance to meet everyone!”

“I’d love that. I can hardly wait, what time does the party start?” You asked, genuinely a bit excited now. Meeting the other tenants sounded like a great start to a new life.

“Party starts at 7 o’clock tonight. Dress up in something fancy, I’ll come pick you up when it starts. And if you need anything, I live in the apartment next to you to the left.” Strade was starting to leave when you stopped him with a gentle hand on his. “Wait.” He turned to you, eyebrow raised in confusion. “Thank you again, Strade. You’ve been a really big help today… I’m uh… I’m here for you too if you need anything. Y’know, to repay you for your help, and being so nice to me.”

“It’s no problem~. I’d do it all over again.” He flashed another grin at you before finally leaving and heading back to his own apartment.

Now to look through all of those boxes. Did you even have anything fancy in them?

By 6:30, you were more than ready. You’d found a pretty fancy outfit you hadn’t worn in years that still fit you nicely, and you’d done your hair up in a way that would surely impress the other residents. You were sitting on a makeshift bed made from blankets and pillows, waiting for the time to pass when you got a call from your best friend, Chris. You’d forgotten to call him earlier to let him know you made it to the apartment safely.

“Hello?” You answered, leaning back on the covers.

“Hey (Y/N). Did you make it to the apartment?” Chris asked. His voice has this sheepish tone to it, like he was sorry about bothering you.

“Yeah, I made it to the apartment alright. Sorry I didn’t call you sooner, one of my neighbors helped me move my stuff in. He’s so nice…” You practically swooned, giggling a little.

“Oh man.” He sighed and you could practically feel him getting comfortable with talking to you again. It always took a few moments. “I can tell by the tone of your voice that you like this guy.”

“I-It’s not like that!” you exclaimed. Chris was silent for a moment, and you realized your mistake. “Sorry, Chris. I didn’t mean to yell, I’m not upset with you, I promise. I’m just a bit flustered that’s all. He’s sweet, but I don’t think I wanna follow some weird infatuation I have not knowing what kind of person he really is, y’know?”

“…That’s understandable…” Chris responded. He had a sad tone in his voice, one you knew all too well.

“Hey, are you okay..?” you asked, sitting up a bit.

“I’m o-okay… I just…” He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.

“Is this about your girlfriend..? I keep telling you you should leave her, she’s such an asshole to you and Aria.”

“You know I can’t do that (Y/N). I can’t just… leave her. Where would she go? I don’t think I could live with myself if I left her with no way to fend for herself.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. In fact, she’d deserve it for the way she treats you.” You huffed, leaning back again. You hated that he just let his girlfriend walk all over him. You should’ve ripped her a new one before you left. But if he didn’t want to take your advice and leave her, that was his decision. “What’d she do this time?”

“It’s… just the usual. Her complaining about everything I do, day in and day out. I buy her flowers and she complains that I’m wasting money. I make her dinner and she complains that she doesn’t have a taste for what I made and eats out instead. We hardly talk anymore (Y/N), I feel like I’m at my wits end. What do I do…?”

“Well, you don’t want to break up with her, which would be the best course of option. So… I’d say stand your ground. Put your foot down, tell her how you really feel. You both can’t just keep walking on eggshells and moseying around your true feelings. Do you think she’d give you the same kind of consideration towards your feelings?”

“No…”

“Exactly.”

“What if she tries to f-fight me or something?”

“Equal rights equal fights. If she touches you, you have every right to knock her into next week.” You threw a weak punch into the air and laughed a little. “Then again, I could always just come back for a few days and give her a piece of my mind.”

You heard a knock at the door. ‘ _Must be Strade.’_ you thought, standing up. “I’ll have to call you back later tonight, okay? Lemme know if anything happens.”

“O-oh uh, okay. Talk to you later, (Y/N). Have fun.”

“Thanks, Chris. Good luck.”

You hung up, then went to answer the door for Strade. Smoothing down your clothes and making sure your hair was alright, you took a deep breath and opened the door.


	3. The Party

Strade let out a long whistle as he looked you up and down, sucking in your features and admiring your outfit of choice. “You look stunning~.” 

“You're one to talk,” you snickered out. He was dressed in a fitted black suit with a simplistic forest green tie, and his hair was slicked back with gel. Even his dress shoes were made of fancy black leather. “That outfit must have cost you a fortune.”

“Nothing I can’t manage to afford.” Strade shrugged, stepping back a bit to give you room to get out of the door. “Shall we get going?” You nodded, stepping out and locking the door behind you. Strade led you down the hall a bit to his apartment, opening the door for you and letting you inside. You were startled a bit when the group of people inside shouted a “CONGRATULATIONS!” from the living room, and you grinned. You weren't used to so much attention being on you.

“T-thank you, everyone! I really appreciate you all welcoming me with a party, I feel like I'm fully accepted here. I’m really excited to get to know all of you!” 

Cue the next hour filled with talking to your neighbors. They were all curious about you, like moths to a flame. So far you'd met Sano and his brother Akira, Vincent and his boyfriend Farz, Ellen, and Strade's roommate, Ren. You'd noticed someone across the room who didn’t seem to have any interest in talking to you though. His long blonde bangs were like curtains over his eyes, and he was huddled up in his grey hoodie and red plaid shirt. Only briefly did you make eye contact with him, and he quickly averted his gaze. 

“Who’s that..?” you whispered to Strade, who’d hardly left your side the entire time to make sure you were fully comfortable. 

“Who, him?” He pointed lazily at the man sitting alone. “That’s my buddy Lawrence! He doesn’t talk much, he's a bit of a shut in.” He then turned to Lawrence with a wide grin on his face. “Hey, Lawrence! Come introduce yourself to our guest!” 

Lawrence jumped at Strade's booming voice, looking like a deer in headlights. He hesitantly shook his head, but Strade gave him a certain look that sent shivers up both of your spines. It was hard to explain, but it seemed… cheerfully threatening. If it weren’t for that look, you would’ve considered telling Strade that it was alright, and that Lawrence could just come to you when he was ready. Now, you felt like you couldn’t say no. Lawrence shrunk into himself a bit, looking apologetic as he got up and walked over. 

“Hi… My uh, my name’s Lawrence,” he mumbled, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. He held out his hand, and you shook it in yours with gentle care. You could feel his fingers twitch, and a blush crept across his cheeks. 

“Nice to meet you, Lawrence. I'm (Y/N).” You smiled at him, apologetic in a way that you couldn’t have met when he was comfortable. “You don't have met when he was more comfortable. “You don’t have to be nervous around me, I promise. If you need anything, feel free to ask me.” 

. “Thank you…” He looked up at your face, smiled just a bit, then looked at Strade as if asking for permission to finally leave. Strade nodded at him, and he scurried over back to his seat. 

Strade let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “I think he likes you~.” 

You sputtered, looking at him in confusion. “Lawrence?? Likes me??? Strade, we just met and he looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere the entire time.” 

“And? Did you not see that blush? He definitely likes you.” Strade gave you a strong pat on the back. “I'm going to go get some food. You still have a lot of people to catch up with, you think you'll be okay without me?” 

“I think I’ll be okay, yeah. Go ahead, I think I might get some juice in a bit.” You smiled, and he headed off to get some food while you spent the next few hours talking and joking with the other residents. Eventually, you did manage to grab some juice, sipping on it occasionally throughout the night.

It was about 9:00pm when a weird sensation rushed over you. You felt dizzy, with an odd sense of dread. You tried to gather yourself, managing to walk normally enough over to Strade to not draw the suspicion of the other guests. He was sitting over by Ren in the kitchen, seemingly teasing him. Did he ever stop smiling?

“Hey… Strade?” You stumbled over, sitting in a free seat with a thud. Ren looked up at you with concern, fox ears flattening. Even Strade had some sort of concern in his face, turning to fully face you “(Y/N) are you okay? You don’t look so well…”

“I feel weird… Was there something in that fruit punch?” You could feel yourself growing uncomfortably warm, beads of sweat forming on your forehead. Strade shook his head at you, looking confused now. “I don’t think so. Me and Ren had some, and we feel fine.”

You sighed, rubbing your arm uncomfortably. “I think I should go back to my apartment and get some rest…”

“So soon?” Strade asked, standing. “Party isn’t even over yet.”

“I know, I hate to have to leave so early, but I really don’t feel good at all…”

Strade stroked his chin for a moment before nodding. “Would you like me to walk you back to your apartment?”

“Yeah. I don’t think I can get back up again on my own.” Your arms and legs felt like jelly, you couldn’t even keep them from straightening out under you, let alone lift them to take a step.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you.” Strade lifted your arm over his shoulders, hoisting you up and helping you out of the kitchen. He explained to everyone that you weren’t feeling okay, and they were a bit upset but mostly understanding. They bid you farewell and a speedy recovery, and you waved weakly and thanked them in response. Strade then helped you to your apartment, taking your keys out of your pocket and unlocking your door. You felt your eyes getting heavier, and your vision was starting to get hazy.

“S-Str..ade.. I think… I’m…” You couldn’t even get the entire sentence out before things went dark, your body slumping over. Strade noticed the change in your weight, but didn’t bother shaking you awake. He dragged you into your apartment for the night.


	4. Captured

It was the middle of the night when you finally awoken from your deep slumber, your eyes taking their sweet time adjusting to the dark room around you. The first thing you noticed was how dry your throat was. The second thing you noticed was the fact that you couldn’t quite remember what happened right before you blacked out, or how you got back to your apartment. You were still in your fancy clothes and you wasted no time in shedding them from your body, your arms still feeling a bit like pool noodles filled with rocks. Once your clothes were disposed of on the floor, you picked up your phone and squinted your eyes to get a look at the time.

3:45a.m

. ‘ _I suppose it’s too late to go ask Strade about what happened…_ ’ you thought to yourself, deciding to just go over later. Sitting up in bed, you pushed back your hair and scooted to your feet. Your legs felt numb, like they were swollen, even though they looked completely fine. ‘ _God, my throat is so dry… I need water.’_

You stumbled out of your room, leaning against the wall for a minute after your knees buckled under you. Eventually, you managed to crawl your way to the kitchen, hoisting yourself up and drinking the water directly from the faucet. The feeling in your legs started to come back slowly but surely, and you were finally able to stand without holding onto the countertop for dear life.

Suddenly, a piercing scream tore through the hallway, along with the tip tap of footsteps. Like a heavy dog. That didn’t make sense though, as Rire clearly stated that no pets were allowed, and considering the relationship he had with his tenants that you’d witnessed so far, you were sure they wouldn’t hide that from him. The only other dog-like thing that lived in this entire complex was… Ren. You hurried over to the front door as quickly as possible looking out from the peephole. Ren ran past your door in a panicked hurry, panting and stumbling over his clawed feet. Worried, you looked both ways and stepped out.

“R-Ren! What’s wrong?” you called out. It didn’t seem like anyone was following him. He did a doubletake, running back to you and tackling you in a tight hug. You had to practically peel him off of you to see what was going on. The sight was something you’d see out of a horror story. Ren was covered in bruises, cuts, and gashes from head to toe, and he was trembling like a leaf in late Autumn. “What… happened to you?”

He looked up at you, whining and shrinking in on himself. “I’m sorry, (Y/N)...”

You looked down at him in confusion, and with no form of warning, you felt a sharp stabbing in your neck. Slowly, you lifted your hand to feel a needle jammed in your neck. And as you passed out once more, you saw the familiar sight of tan khakis and a forest green button-up shirt.

“Sorry, Leibling~. It’s about time for another nap…”

The next thing you knew, you were waking up again. The overhead lights were a blinding white, making it hard for your eyes to adjust to the room around you.

“Hello..?” you called weakly, lifting your head from your chest. You went to rub your eyes so you could adjust better to the light, but you quickly realized your arms were tightly bound to the chair you’d woken up in. Panic coursed through your body at an alarming rate as you took in your surroundings. There wasn’t much to look at. The walls and floor and the ceiling were all painfully white, and the lights emitted a low humming sound against the quiet of the room. You looked down at yourself, noticing your clothes had been changed to something like a nurse’s dark blue scrubs.

You considered letting out a call for help, but honestly, who knew _where_ you could possibly be. For all you knew, you could be 20ft underground in some crazy asshole’s bunker, or maybe some secret room in Strade’s apartment. He did drug you, as you could faintly recall, and Ren used your kindness against you.

‘ _When I get my hands on them, I’m gonna-‘_ you grumbled mentally, thought cut short by the sound of the door opening. Any shred of confidence you had at that moment vanished as quickly as it had come as Strade and Rire walked in. Strade was grinning like the world was all sunshine, rainbows, and kittens. It was charming when you first met him, but now you could see _why_ he was smiling. _This was all planned._

“Good morning, Sonnenschein!” He chippered, walking over to you and stopping just to your right. You involuntarily tried to sink deeper into the uncomfortable wooden chair, looking between him and Rire. They both seemed like such nice people before, what happened..? You could hardly tell Rire’s full facial expression on account of his black tinted sunglasses that hid his eyes. His mouth was curled into a smirk though, enjoying your reactions thoroughly.

“You’re looking lively (Y/N). Want something to eat before we get started?” He held out what seemed like a smoothie in your direction, and you quickly shook your head. Whatever was in it, you wanted no parts in it whatsoever. He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and sat it down. “Aww, too bad~… That shake had some _really good_ vitamins and numbing agents in it. Given what we’re about to do to you, you’re gonna wish you’d drank it.”

Now you were starting to regret your decision on not drinking it. Then again, he could be lying. He could’ve poisoned it and would’ve watched your body shut down before his very eyes. As Strade leaned over and got close to your face, you attempted to back yourself even further into the chair to get as far away as you possibly could. That only seemed to excite him further though, and he whispered breathily into your ear.

“Are you ready~?”

You shook your head again quickly, squirming in fear as tears prickled at the corners of your eyes. “W-what do you want from me..? I’ll give you anything, I swear, please just don’t hurt me…”

Strade licked his lips as he eyed your form, placing a hand on your shoulder. “That’s too bad… What we want from you requires lots… and lots… of hurting.”

Rire placed a hand on your other shoulder, nodding. “That’s right. We’re going to thoroughly enjoy breaking you… And hey, if you manage to stay alive for long enough, we might just keep you. Of course, that’s not much fun for me, but we’ll just have to see what happens.” He gave your face two pats before backing up a few steps. “Untie them, Strade.”

You looked up at Rire curiously as Strade did as told, untying your arms from the chair. You rubbed and scratched at your wrists as soon as the ropes loosened from around them, sighing in only partial relief. Now, a game plan. Surely, you didn’t want to stay here and be tortured to death, and you probably weren’t strong enough to fight neither Rire nor Strade. The only chance you had was to just bum-rush your way past them and hope they’ll be caught off guard long enough for you to gain a bit of distance. You hated running, but this was all you had.

Suddenly, you started running without warning towards the cracked door, your hand just barely touching the doorknob before a slimy appendage gripped you around the neck, flinging you against the wall with a loud _THUMP_. All of the air was knocked out of your lungs when you hit the wall, leaving you gasping and groaning when you hit the ground. You lifted your head to the sight of Rire, inky writhing tentacles protruding from his back like something out of a Sci-Fi movie. They picked you up by your arms, dangling you and turning you towards the wall.

“What a bold move _that_ was~. I’d have applauded you if you managed to get out. Maybe next time,” Rire remarked, and you felt your back being whipped harshly by one of his many tentacles. You let out a yelp in shock, kicking your legs. Strade held your legs, stretching you down against the upwards pull of Rire’s slimy limbs and digging his nails into the skin. Another whipping left you _sobbing,_ hot tears streaming down your face as you felt thin ribbons of blood make their way down your back.

Strade, getting a little impatient and wanting to have just as much fun as Rire, bit down into your thigh harshly and causing you to release a crackling scream. The sight of you in pain, the taste of your blood on his tongue, and the sobs made Strade awfully hard. He wanted to ravish you far beyond your limits, slicing and clawing at you and getting a taste of every inch of your body. His mind ran rampant with fantasies that he couldn’t act on just yet. After all, Rire was the boss here. He decided what happened, and Strade hated that with a passion. If he was back at his own home, you’d be on the cold basement floor screaming for him. Not much he could do about it now though, he knew his limits and where to draw the line.

At the third hit, Rire let out a low hum in thought.

“I think you should count your lashings, considering how badly behaved you were… Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?”


	5. The Reality of Your Situation

The feeling of the cold floor upon your beaten, bloodied, and bruised back helped to ease the pain, if only just a little. The bitemark inflicted by Strade throbbed. Your throat was dry and scratchy from screaming. If there was any time you’d ever wanted to die the most, it would be right now. The entire ordeal had left your brain foggy and tired, and the only thing on your mind was sleep. Rire left the room, leaving you all to Strade while he took care of some other business.

Strade stood over you, feet on either side of your body as he looked down at you. His eyes were filled with lust at your hurt and crumpled form, but also curiosity as he moistened his lips with his tongue and knelt down. You didn’t have it in you to fight him. Your arms were sore from Rire holding you up by them with his tentacles, and even more from Strade pulling you downwards as he held your legs. Strade dragged his tongue across your lips, watching as you weakly lifted your arm, then dropped it in exhaustion. “Awwwh… He really tired you out, didn’t he?” He slapped you across the face a few times, watching your lack of a change in expression. “Tch… How disappointing. I’ll have to catch you when you’ve got more fight in you.” He hoisted himself up, kicking you over to your stomach and exposing your wounds.

Right on cue, a small knock sounded from the door before Ren popped his head in. “A-are you ready for me to bandage them up, Strade?” he asked, keeping his gaze on you the entire time with ears drooped. Strade looked over at Ren, nodding and stepping away from your body. It was hard to stay focused on anything. You could hardly even feel the alcohol being poured onto your cuts, nor the needle piercing your skin to sew you up. Your body felt cold but relaxed. The only thing on your mind was sleep.

_You woke up once again. This place was different. Though the white was near blinding all the same as a place you barely remember being in now, you were instead greeted by a sea of water and a thick fog. You walked aimlessly, feeling weightless. “Hello?” You called out into the nothingness, your loud voice contrasting the calm sounds of water. You almost didn’t want to talk again in order to maintain the peace._

_And in return, a buzz. A low, droning hum. It was faint at first, and you could hardly tell from which directing it was coming, but then it was everywhere. Right left, behind, in front, and over you into the sky. You could feel its vibrations in the water, travelling up your feet and throughout your entire body. Then suddenly, you sank into the water, thrashing and feeling the weight return to your body._

Gasping, you woke up for real this time, spiraling into a coughing fit. You were absolutely _drenched_ in sweat, the beads rolling down your face. You still heard the low humming above you, looking up to see what it was. _The lights._ You forgot they made that sound, and you somewhat cursed at them for waking you from what seemed like a peaceful dream, the only getaway you had from the harsh reality you were in.

It took you a moment to even realize Ren sitting in the room with you, tail and ears up in high alert at your sudden… Awake-ness. You stared at him, narrowing your eyes and furrowing your brows. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“I-I’m here to help you…” He lifted up a bowl of what looked like soup, ears and tail drooping again.

“I don’t WANT your help, get out!” you yelled hoarsely at him. Though your stomach was painfully empty and the soup looked and smelled extremely tasty, you didn’t want anything to do with Ren after he tricked you. Ren noticed you anger and sat the soup down, walking over to you slowly. He knelt I between you legs, looking up at you apologetically.

“(Y/N)… I’m sorry…”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Ren! You made me feel _SORRY_ for you, I was scared you were actually hurt!”

“I _was_ hurt, (Y/N). Do you actually think I wanted them to do all of this to you? Do you honestly think that I wanted to trick you?”

“I don’t know what to think! You were in on all of it, shit, EVERYONE is in on it as far as I’m concerned. Am I right?”

Ren hesitated for a moment before nodding. It was just as you suspected.

“If you didn’t want me to get hurt, you should have said something to me… Anything… I would have left on the spot and just went back home…” Your anger was replaced by a wave of sadness, tears streaking down your face like clear rivers. Ren reached up, torn between comforting you or just letting you cry. He ultimately chose comfort, petting your head gently and running his hands through your hair.

“If I had said anything then, they would have killed the both of us. It wouldn’t have helped.” He sighed, standing up a bit to sit on your lap, hugging you and being careful not to touch any welts or cuts. You, still being tied to the chair, had no other choice but to lean into it. You were a little more sympathetic to Ren and his reasoning, but you needed time. Time to realize that was the truth, and time to let him prove he wouldn’t really hurt you. You sobbed quietly into his shoulder, and he whispered reassurances into your ear.

“(Y/N),” he started, lifting your head up so he could look into your eyes. “The only way to get past this part is to either give in or die. You don’t seem like the type of person who would want to die. Despite all you’ve been through already, I can see it in your eyes that you want to live. Right?”

You nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah… I’m not ready to not exist anymore.”

“Then you have to give in. It’s the only other chance you have to keep living.” Ren smiled a little at you, then looked away again. His fingers ran along the heavy-looking metal collar around his neck. “I was like you once… When I met Strade, I was terrified. He took me away and he… he hurt me a lot.” He gestured to all of his visible cuts. His body was littered with them, some of them newer, but a lot of them being older-looking. You winced just looking at them. “I had to give in, just like you have to. But unlike me, you’ll have someone with you every step of the way, if you’ll let me be there for you.

You considered this thoughtfully. Ren was being very open with you right now. Or, at least you thought he was. Again, this could all me some elaborate ruse to get you to trust him right before he knocks you back down again. Or alternatively, he could be telling the truth, and he really could be trying to look out for you. You’d be an idiot to not take that opportunity while you have it. And so, you nodded once more. “Okay… But first, I need to ask some questions.”

“I’ll answer the ones I’m allowed to without breaking any rules,” Ren stated nervously, looking around. “There’s people listening.”

“Understandable,” you huffed in frustration before starting with your first question. “Why are they doing this?”

“I uh…” He looked conflicted for a moment, biting his lip. “I don’t know..? I feel like it’s because they all enjoy the same thing, which is killing people.”

“Why don’t they just kill each other then?”

“Rire said we aren’t allowed to kill each other, but the people we bring in are free game.”

“Bring in?” You perked up a bit, eyes wide. “People get to go outside..?”

Ren shook his hand in a ‘kind of’ motion. “Only certain people can go outside. I haven’t been out there yet, but I’ve seen people leave. I’m uh… I’m not allowed to tell you how you can gain that privilege though.”

“That’s fair, I guess… I only have one more question.”

“What would that be?”

You faltered, looking into Ren’s eyes. “What happened to my friend..? My job..? Has anyone tried to contact me at all?” In all of the madness and pain that’s been going on, you almost forgot that you hadn’t talked to Chris since before the party. Ren tensed up, looking extremely guilty and getting off of your lap. “Ren…?”

“I’m sorry…” He reached into his back pocket, pulling out your phone.

“Shit- my phone..! Quick, is there any signal here? Maybe we can call the police if we-“ Ren put a finger to your lips to shush you quickly.

“They cut off your cell service the morning after they brought you here, we can’t make any calls. A few people tried to contact you though. A Chris. And someone under… Cheating Lying Bastard?” He looked up at you questionably, and you rolled your eyes at the second name.

“Ex boyfriend, long story. What did Chris say?” you asked, not wanting to think about your ex at all in the duration of time you’d stay in this hellhole of an apartment. It was all his fault that you considered moving in the first place.

Ren read over the texts briefly, looking up at you before looking back at the phone. “I think you should read them… You aren’t going to like it.” He walked behind you, draping an arm over your shoulder so you could see the texts.

Chris had been asking if you were okay, since you didn’t call him back after the party. After that was a response, one you couldn’t have sent because you hadn’t had your phone since Strade picked you up.

**_‘I’m alright. I was just doing some thinking when I got home’_ **

**_‘I don’t think we should be friends anymore, Chris’_ **

****

Chris has responded a minute later with a quick ‘ ** _What do you mean? Why not?_** ’ before the true horror set in.

**_‘I’m really enjoying myself here. Everyone is so nice, I made a lot of new friends and they’re so confident…_ **

**_‘I feel more confident.’_ **

**_‘ I don’t think I’m going to be coming back anytime soon.’_ **

****

**_‘What does that have to do with our friendship, (Y/N)?’_** Chris had texted back hastily.

****

**_‘I just think that if I’m going to fully commit to having a new beginning, I need to leave everything behind for good._ **

**_‘These people aren’t like you, Chris.’_ **

****

**_‘What are you even saying? Do you hear yourself right now?’_ **

**_‘Is there something wrong? This doesn’t even feel like you to say something like this.’_ **

**_‘Pick up your phone’_ **

****

**_‘Nothing’s wrong, stop calling me.’_ **

**_‘I just don’t think we should be friends anymore, that’s all.’_ **

****

**_‘Did I do something wrong?’_ **

**_‘Whatever I did I’m sorry, just tell me what I can do to make it up to you’_ **

**_‘(Y/N)?”_ **

And that’s where the messages stopped. The tears streamed down your face again and it felt difficult to breathe. Ren tried to pet your head again, but you shook him off of you angrily. “I didn’t send those messages to him…! Who sent those?!”

Ren walked around the chair so that you were in his line of sight again, and he shrugged. “Strade, probably. There's messages to your boss too. L-long story short, they took back the job opportunity... Strade gave me your phone so I could show you the messages." Ren shuffled his feet, avoiding eye contact. "I’m sorry, Chris must’ve been really important to you…” When you continued to cry and didn’t respond, Ren started to feel a little awkward. “I-If it makes you feel any better, maybe it’s a good thing that happened. It’s better to have him stay away than him eventually coming here. He might die if he came here looking for you.”

That did, in fact, make you feel a little better. If you had to choose between Chris hating you or having him die trying to find you, you’d rather he just leave your life for good. Ren put your phone back into his pocket, then picked up the bowl of soup again.

“Your soup is getting cold. C’mon, eat up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! If y'all like my story so far, feel free to donate to my Cashapp!  
> My Tag is $AntSagg


	6. The Dark Room

The next week was eventful. Someone would come in, rather it be Strade, or Rire, or Vincent, or some other person, and they’d offer you food. And then they tortured you in their own special ways until you passed out from exhaustion or almost died. Then Ren would come and nurse you back to health, just for them to do it all over again. Day by day, they were wearing you down. _‘This is my life now,’_ you’d think to yourself as you were lying on the floor, covered in fresh bruises and cuts. _‘I’m going to be tortured everyday until I die and no one is going to come looking for me.’_

Ren was the only person that brought you happiness in this hell. He’d be there when you wake up, feed you warm food and bandage you up. He’d talk to you, sometimes about things the both of you have in common, sometimes about personal memories.

“Hey, Ren?” you called out one day, still strapped to that uncomfortable wooden chair in the middle of the room. Your hair was a mess and you were in desperate need for a shower. Ren looked up at you, his hands fidgeting with the tip of his tail.

“How did you and Strade manage to end up here? Did the two of you have to go through the same thing as me when you arrived?” You asked. Ren thought for a moment as he fed you warm soup, trying to recall.

“No, we didn’t have to go through what you do now. It’s a little hazy actually… We used to live in a really big house, and then suddenly we were here with all of these people. I don’t even remember us leaving. I just remember seeing Rire at our house. And then the next day, we were here. It really was a big downgrade, I’d go back home if I could.”

You sighed in defeat. Even if Rire was the ultimate mastermind behind this, how do you defeat a demon like that?

As if right on cue, the heavy door swung open and Rire stepped inside looking as relaxed as ever.

“Well well~. Still managing to stay alive, are we? I’m sure that any other human would be dead by now despite the care.” He clapped condescendingly, walking behind you to undo your ropes. “Congratulations, you’ve passed your first test. You’re graduating to new places.”

As soon as you were freed, you rubbed at your wrists and looked up at him in skeptical confusion. He walked back to the front of you, pulling you out of your chair and into… a warm hug? Now you were even more confused. One day he’s lashing at you, and now _this_? He must be toying with you. And yet despite that, you couldn’t help but take comfort in the embrace. He smelled of an expensive cologne, and his tone arms squeezed your body gently into his warm chest. It felt good. You just wanted all of this pain to finally stop.

You were about to ask Rire what the next step would be when you were slapped with a pang of dizziness. As if reality was shifting away from your physical form. It left as quickly as it had came, leaving you in the dark about what happened. And on that same front, it had literally left you in the dark. You weren’t asleep, as you could obviously feel. You felt awake, at least. Rire hadn’t drugged you with any needles either, because you would’ve felt that, and the drugs always made your eyes and head hurt when you woke up again. This had to be one of his little mind tricks.

The darkness of this place was eerie. You couldn’t see even a centimeter in front of you, and you could hardly tell you were blinking. The silence of the room was unnatural, unlike anything you’d witnessed in your however many years of living you had lived so far. Just the sounds of your breathing, swallowing, and heart beating made you feel guilty for making so much noise. It was like talking just a bit too loudly in a library, if that library was old and haunted by ghosts. Your eyes wanted so badly to adjust to the dark room, but nothing was coming in. Was there even anything in this place?

You took a careful step forward, putting your hands out in front of you. A quick turn-around revealed nothing in your path, so you took a few steps. Then a few more. Your fingertips grazed a wall, which was a positive start for you because at least now you knew you were at least _somewhere._ You lifted your arms up over your head, and when you found no ceiling, it didn’t strike you as unordinary, of course. You were never really that tall that you could easily reach the ceiling. When you jumped to see if you could possibly touch it though, you accidentally banged both of your palms straight into a 90 degree angle against the smooth surface and let out a surprised yet pained yelp. You held your wrists gently, hoping you could just rub away the pain. It was best that you didn’t do that again. Instead, you took to keeping a hand against the wall and walking around the perimeter so you could get a good sense of the place.

It only took a few seconds to reach the next wall. There didn’t seem to be a door so far. The next wall, though, took about two minutes to get to as you cautiously felt the floor with your feet. It felt like a foam mat covering the entirety of the flooring beneath you. As you followed the next wall back towards the direction you came from, you felt your foot kick against something hard. You knelt down, searching for the item with your hands and picking it up. It was cold and smooth, with a few cracks on it. There were two gaping holes in what you assumed to be the front of it. And as you examined it blindly, you felt what felt like… teeth. Realizing now that what you were holding was in fact a human skull, you tensed up and chucked the remains as far away from you as possible. It then hit a wall close by, bouncing off and hitting _you_ in the head. You grunted and groaned at the pain, rolling your eyes in frustration. You hated this place already and wanted out.

“How long am I even supposed to stay in here..?” you asked to no one but yourself. Of course, you didn’t know the answer. You suspected Rire didn’t really know either. Maybe he’d just come when he feels you’re broken enough.

.

.

.

Two days passed and you were none the wiser. Sleeping and being awake melded into one big mass of darkness, and you ended up being tired anyways from not being able to tell the difference. There was nothing to do, nothing to see, and nothing to hear in this hellhole void. And worst of all, there was nothing to eat. No one had came to feed you and you were starting to feel a bit weak. You tried to move as little as possible in order to conserve energy, but it didn’t exactly help much at all.

On day three however, you saw the light. A door opening to the outside world you’d missed so much, and it had only been about a foot from where you were laying. ‘ _Had there always been a wall right there?_ ’ you wondered as you hastily stood and ran towards it. You had just barely made it out when a heavy boot made contact with your abdomen, kicking you back in harshly. The impact made you vomit up stomach acid from your already empty belly. And when you looked up to see your assailant, you were met with the dark silhouette of Strade before the door closed again behind him.

“Smells gross in here, liebling. You really should clean up behind yourself,” he scoffed. It wasn’t your fault that they weren’t gracious enough to provide you with a toilet or a shower or something. You didn’t want to piss him off though, so you kept that line to yourself. In fact, you tried not to make any sound at all so he couldn’t find out where you were. He did close the door after all, and this place was too dark for you to see in, so you suspected that he’d be no different. You scooted yourself as quietly as possible to the farthest wall to avoid him.

He chuckled at your silence. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I promise I mean it in an uh… endearing way~.” You held your breath to stay even quieter, but that didn’t stop his footsteps from stomping in your direction, and his hands to suddenly make contact with your throat. “What’s wrong~? Scared of the dark?”

You choked out a gargled response, his rough hands against your throat preventing you from making any coherent words. He squeezed tighter, making you lightheaded. “Don’t worry, Kleine Angstkatze… I’m going to have you seeing _stars_ in a moment.”


	7. Strade Fucked You (READ SUMMARY)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is an optional chapter filled with heavy descriptions of Rape, Mind Breaking, and a few mentions of Vomit, and Blood.  
> Feel free to skip this chapter if you need to, as it won't affect the story going forward!
> 
> I think it's also safe to mention now that I DO NOT CONDONE these actions in real life. I like to write torture porn, but I don't want anyone to take my words as permission nor inspiration to do anything as crazy as what I write.

Strade straddled your waist, removing one of his hands from your throat in order to get his knife from its holster. You clawed and scratched at him in retaliation, swiping at his face to give him a good tear to the eyes. Instead, you hit goggles, which probably explained how he could pinpoint your location in such a dark place. Your hitting ceased when you felt the sharp point of Strade’s knife against your neck.

“I could just kill you right now, you know that?” he stated, dragging it down lightly. “At any point, I can just plunge this into your throat and watch you suffocate _slowly~_ … Don’t you think that’d be a lot more fun?”

You gulped, the knife momentarily pressing into the top layer of skin. “S-Strade…” you wheezed, his other hand loosening its grip on your neck as you started to sob. “I-I don’t wanna die…” That was true. You liked life, experiencing life despite its ups and downs. It sounded cliché but felt like you were too young to die. There was still so much to do. Strade stroked your face slowly, shushing you and kissing your forehead. “Then take it… wie eine gute kleine Schlampe… and I won’t have to kill you. Understand?” You nodded, understanding most of it at least. You never understood what he said when he spoke what you presumed to be German.

“Good… Let’s start then, shall we? Open your mouth.”

Hesitantly, you obeyed, opening your mouth for him. In return, he jammed the knife in your mouth, taking you by surprise and slitting a line into your tongue. He settled the knife against your teeth as he unzipped his pants with his free hand. “Gotta make sure you don’t act on any funny ideas~.” He then slipped his pants and boxers down some, readjusting himself so that his hips were hovering over your face and his legs were pinning your shoulders to the floor. Without further warning, he pushed his cock into your bloodied mouth, sighing in content. You weren’t used to this, gagging and coughing when the head travelled closer and closer to your esophagus. In one swift motion, he shoved his entire cock down your throat and your body tensed and panicked, cutting your lips on his knife as you involuntarily turned your head. You kicked your legs and clawed at whatever you could reach by instinct, gagging but not being able to push anything past the blockage. Strade groaned and grunted at the warm, slick tightness that was your throat, pumping himself in and out of it at a steady pace. When the head happened to pop out of your throat for even a half of a second, bile and saliva filled your mouth. Strade kept going either way, not caring about the extra fluids. They weren’t getting in his way.

He was so close to finally cumming, but he wanted to put his seed in a place that mattered. He pulled both his cock and the knife out of your mouth, standing up and letting you roll onto your stomach to cough out the putrid mix of fluids. He wasted no time in grabbing you again from behind, lifting your hips up and shoving his way into your core. You squealed, trying desperately to crawl away from this barrage of pain, but he ground your face down into the foam flooring and pushed farther inside. You could feel yourself bleeding a little more. Hoarsely, you begged and pleaded with Strade to stop, to let you go, that you’d be good, you promised. But your cries went unanswered and he just kept pumping himself into you.

Surprisingly, after a few minutes of pain and burning, it started to feel… _good._ Your sobs turned into breathy moans as the aches blossomed into pleasure, pleasantly surprising Strade in the process.

“Mmmm, what’s that? You’re enjoying yourself down there?” he implored, pounding into you harder and causing your moans to grow louder. You were starting to break, not being able to handle any of it anymore. The pain, the pleasure, the darkness, the fact that you were still _alive_ after all you’d been through, it was just too much for you to handle. Strade took his hand off your head and you stayed right where you were, pushing yourself back against him in response to his question. He grinned and raised an eyebrow, using his knife to cut a deep line across your back. You could hardly compute the feeling as pain. Rather, the spot bloomed with warm ecstasy.

A few more pumps and the two of you were a hair away from your orgasms. Strade was huffing and panting heavily over you, biting and sucking at your neck. “Nghh, cumich komme… Scheiße..!” He sped up, plunging his knife deep into your arm and sending you screaming into your own full blown orgasm. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head and your entire body convulsed and shook beneath Strade as he pounded into your G-spot, keeping the knife firmly in your arm as he came with you. The two of you rode out the pleasure, until you were spent, and Strade finally pulled out. You slumped fully onto the floor, your entire body sore. He was right at least. He did leave you seeing stars. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to drink some water, you thirsty MoFo's lmao


	8. Getting Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (WARNING: DESCRIPTIVE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE NEAR THE END)

You spent what felt like eons in that dark, silent room. Sometimes, the walls would shift. Some days it was about the size of a normal room, and other days, it was a large open space, a jungle of darkness that swallowed you whole. One time you could’ve sworn you’d felt grass on your knees as you crawled along the floors (your new method of getting around these days so you wouldn’t trip on anything by surprise), though by that time it was the norm to find random things lying about in odd places.

Most of the time it’s miscellaneous stuff, like a phone that didn’t work or a random ball to play with, which disappeared at random intervals and left you alone with your thoughts. Other times though… you found yourself at the mercy of terrible happenings. For instance, one day when the room was as tight as a broom closet, you woke up standing with your form pressed up against what you instantly recognized as a dead body, cold and decomposing and smelling of rotting meat. You screamed and cried for hours, banging on the walls and clawing at every surface in order to find an exit. It broke you down in a way that you’d never experienced before, and when they too eventually vanished, just like everything else, you couldn’t bounce back. Your body shook and ears focused on every little sound in paranoia. There were days you tried not to sleep, because the horrid nightmares blended in almost seamlessly with the reality you were in. When you were awake, you’d eventually start hallucinating, audibly and visually. You heard whispers in the dark and saw visions of people staring at you. You heard the voices of the people you once loved tearing you down, telling you that you were worthless, to give up, to just die. Blocking your ears did nothing to stop them, and they eventually went out on their own, like you weren’t worth the time or energy.

One time, you dreamt (or at least you believe you’d dreamt, despite how real everything felt) that you were back in that white place again, with the never-ending water and fog. You wandered aimlessly, feeling nothing, knowing nothing. It wasn’t until you felt a tug at your body to wake up that you snapped back to reality with a harsh kick to the chest from Strade’s boot. You felt deafeningly hungry, as your food and water portions were late by days that you didn’t even know of.

Beneath all of the fear, shame, and hunger was a primal unhinged rage, waiting for the opportunity to kill any bitch in sight that even touched you with a singular fiber of their being. You blamed everyone in that apartment complex, especially Rire and Strade, and cursed them for all of the shit you’d been through thus far. And if it hadn’t been for the very small amount of food that made it to your prison of emptiness, you may have decided to work out to gain enough muscle to at least attempt to beat their asses. That would’ve been nice.

One day, today, the door opened. Strade wasn’t there, nor anyone for that matter. It just sat open, waiting. On instinct, you tried to find the farthest corner away from the door to occupy, as your prior experience with trying to escape in this scenario didn’t go exactly as planned. It took maybe an hour or so for your curiosity to peak, and you cautiously and quietly crawled towards the shining exit. Your eyes couldn’t adjust properly to the light beyond the doorway, and you were practically forced to keep your eyes closed when you reached the doorframe.

“Excellent job, (Y/N)~. You’re really turning out to be quite the trooper.” Rire’s voice praised suddenly, causing you to jump and scramble away from the door as quickly as possible. He just chuckled, and you felt a large tentacle wrap around your legs and drag your naked form out of the room in one swift tug. “Honestly, I thought you’d have gone insane in there at some point. Have fun?” He pulled you up to your feet, letting the tentacle fall. And just as quickly as you stood, you fell right back to the floor, dizzy and disoriented, placing your hands over your eyes to shield the light coming in from all around you. Rire sighed and lifted you up again, keeping your arms in his grip and shaking his head.

“Poor thing, all tuckered out. I wonder if you have any fight left in you after all of that. You can hardly stand, let alone throw a punch…” He looked you up and down, assessing your body. You’d lost some weight during your time in the room due to the lack of food, and you were weak from the lack of movement throughout most of your days there as well. You still had your hands covering your eyes too. “You deserve quite a reward,” he started, pulling your hands down and taking off his shades to place them over your eyes instead. You were finally able to open your eyes again, although through an adjusted squint. It still seemed that the two of you were still in the apartment complex, but in a part of it you hadn’t seen before. Must’ve been the basement. Rire pulled you into a warm embrace, not caring that you were naked and hadn’t bathed in however long, and continued speaking. “I’m going to give you a break for one week so you can recover, and then it’s back to business, understand?”

You tensed up at ‘back to business’, looking back at where the room was in fear, only to find that there was nothing there. Rire couldn’t help but laugh at your fear and confusion. “No no, I’m not going to put you back in there unless you give me a very good reason to do so. I’ve got other plans for you, little human. But we can talk about those matters another time.” He picked you up bridal style, not wanting to drag along your stumbling form through the halls

Things started to look a lot more familiar as the two of you made your way upstairs, confirming that you were still in the apartment complex. Bummer. Not like you were expecting anything better. A few minutes later and you were… in front of Strade’s apartment. You looked at Rire questioningly, then back at where your apartment right next door before croaking out a question. “Can… can I go back to my own apartment…?” You really didn’t want to be anywhere around Strade after everything he did to you in that room. It made you physically sick to think about it.

He huffed, like he was laughing at a joke that wasn’t funny enough to laugh out loud to. “It was never really _your_ apartment,” he answered, and you just left it at that for now. You didn’t want to seem like you were asking too many questions. You also didn’t want to piss him off somehow and have him take back his graceful break. You needed all of the healing you can get.

Rire knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Ren peeked out shyly. Once he made eye contact with you though, he perked up, eyes practically sparkling with excitement. “(Y/N)!” he exclaimed, holding onto you as Rire set you down and took back his shades. You had to admit, Ren’s presence soothed your soul considering he was the only one who’s actually helped you since you arrived. “Let’s get you into a bath, you smell horrible…” he stated, sweeping you inside and giving Rire a gentle “Thanks” before closing the door.

Once you were fully inside, you took a look around the place. You could see a lot more of the décor now that there weren’t nearly as many people in here now. The furniture and rugs were all white, and there were some pretty generic pictures hung up on the walls. Overall, it was clean, as if the place had never been used. It felt like something was missing though… Someone…

“Where’s Strade…?” you asked, wanting to vomit just from saying his name. Ren shrugged as he nudged you into the bathroom. “He said he needed to go run some errands. I usually don’t ask where he’s going.”

You nodded and leaned against the wall as Ren ran your bath water. You would sit, but you were still naked and didn’t think they’d exactly appreciate you sitting your unwiped and unwashed ass anywhere that they would. In the meantime, you just thought to yourself. After all, you had a million questions to ask Ren after you’d spent so much time in that room.

“Ren, how long was I gone..?” you questioned, voice cracking a little. Ren turned to face you, raising an eyebrow.

“I think you were gone forrrr…. three days? It wasn’t long.” He shrugged nonchalantly, checking the water temperature and plugging the drain. He then looked back to you, examining you with his eyes and squinting. “Your hair did seem to get longer though… What did they do to you?”

You hesitated, a completely puzzled look taking over your features. “Th-three days..? I… No, that can’t be.” You looked down at your hands, the nails overgrown. “I was there for _weeks_ , Ren… _Months,_ there’s no way that I could’ve only been there for three days!” You balled your fists, standing up straight before staggering a bit. Ren was suddenly more alert, ready to defend himself against you at least if you started attacking him. Your hits never came though. Instead, he was met by the sight of you crying, dropping to your knees and clutching yourself tightly. He relaxed a bit, dropping down to his knees with you and pulling you into a tight embrace. “I know…” he cooed into your ear, rubbing you back in wide ovals. “It’s okay, (Y/N)… Everything is okay… You’re here now, and that’s all that matters. I’m going to take care of you. I’m here for you…”

Nodding, you burying your face into his arm as you cried all of your pent up emotions into him. You’d be an idiot if you said you didn’t like these moments with Ren. It felt so nice to be able to have someone to cry and relax with, someone to really be yourself with. Maybe if you two had met under better circumstances, you’d be the best of friends. Maybe more, who knows?

A few minutes later, Ren had to lean back to turn the faucet off, never letting go of you completely. “Let’s get you in the tub… Whatever they did to you, it’s clear you haven’t had a bath since you left.” He stood you up with him, helping you into the tub. The water was hot against your skin, but it made things feel all the better. “I’m gonna go get you a rag and a towel, I’ll be right back. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ll be okay…,” you answered blankly, leaning your head back against the cold edge of the tub and closing your eyes. The world around you seemed to slip away, and you didn’t even realize when Ren had left the bathroom. You sunk down so that the water was up to your neck, enveloping you like a hot comforter. It felt good. You wanted to feel it all over.

With a bending of your knees, you slid your head under, not bothering to take a deep breath. You didn’t even think twice about the fact that you could die, you just wanted to feel good all over, for the pain to finally cease. The aches and pain from the abuse you faced seemed to melt away until your body attempted to breathe, the water, painfully entering your lungs. Upon instinct, you tensed and thrashed, and you sat up with a quickness that made the room spin. You coughed all of the water out of your lungs and onto the floor right as Ren walked in, scaring him so bad that his tail straightened and puffed up.

“(Y/N) are you okay?!” He dropped the towel and rag, running over to you and patting your back. You gave him a thumbs up, hacking out the rest of the water. “Super,” you wheezed, looking up at him. Your eyes were bloodshot now, and he sighed in complete worry. “Please don’t do that, you scared the shit out of me!” he whined, pulling you into a tight hug. You practically melted against him.

Maybe… there were other ways to feel good that didn’t involve murdering yourself…

You hugged Ren back and smiled a little, relaxing again.


	9. Earning the Right to Live

The next week flew by quicker than you though it would. You had to regain a sleep schedule and heal from any injuries you had while staying with Ren and Strade. Strade was begrudgingly under direct orders from Rire to not hurt you while you were in Ren’s care, which was a lucky break for you. If it hadn’t been for the things he’d done to you ever since you woke up tied to that chair, you’d have thought he was a saint that actually cared about your well-being. He helped feed and bathe you, nursing you to health along with Ren until the week was finally up.

It was a Monday morning when Strade woke you up, tapping your face lightly. You groaned and stirred, opening your eyes to Strade grinning at you excitedly. “Get up, get dressed. Wir haben einen langen Tag vor uns~.” He pushed a bundle of clothes into your hands, waiting for you to get dressed. He was just staring expectantly at you.

“Can I… get some privacy..?” you asked. Usually they had let you get dressed on your own when you had the strength, but it didn’t seem like that was a privilege anymore.

“No,” Strade stated simply, and you sighed, getting out of your covers and changing your clothes. It wasn’t until you put them on that you realized that it was actually _your_ clothes that you had packed with you when you moved here. They were just a little loose considering the slight weight loss, but they still fit. You eyed Strade curiously, and he snickered. “Rire let us get your clothes out of storage.”

“Must be a really special occasion, then…” you mumbled, slipping past him to go brush your teeth in the bathroom. _‘I wonder what Rire is going to do to me…’_ you wondered. Once you were finished, you pushed on a pair of your shoes that were also taken out of storage. Stade was close behind, probably because you were getting too close to the front door without him.

“Ready?” he asked, tilting his head. You stood up straight.

“Where’s Ren?”

“I let him sleep in today.”

“He’s… not coming with us?”

Strade shook his head and smiled sweetly, then gripped your arm so tightly that it felt like it might pop off. You winced and whined, trying to pull yourself from his grip as he led you out of the apartment and down the hall. “W-where are we going?” you asked helplessly. He didn’t answer you, just continuing to drag you along with him.

A few flights of steps and a turn later, he came to a stop, opening the door to another apartment and tossing you inside. Losing your balance, you fell in front of… someone. It wasn’t anyone you’d met in this place before. Their red tear-streaked face looked down at you in terror, and you looked up at them with the same fear before hurriedly scooting away. She muffled a plea from behind the gag in her mouth, writhing in the chair.

“How nice of you to join us (Y/N). You’re right on time.” Rire’s voice emerged from the other side of the room, startling you. He smirked and walked over to you, helping you up off of the floor. “As you can see, we have a new guest today in your place.”

“I-In my place?” you responded, looking back at the new captive.

“Precisely. After all, you unexpectedly managed to live all this time, so _someone_ has to take your place. Right?” He looked at you, expecting an answer. You hesitated.

“I… I don’t want someone to die because of me…” you whimpered, looking up at Rire pleadingly.

“Oh? Is that right…” he arched an eyebrow in curiosity, tapping his chin in thought. It felt like you made a mistake, if only you knew how to shut the fuck up for once and follow orders.

Rire seemed to get an idea, grinning widely and showing of those sharp teeth of his. “How about I make this fun? Think of it as… a final test to see if you’re really worth staying alive.” He walked over to the chair-bound captive, ripping off her gag. He whispered something in her ear, and she swallowed hard, looking up at you. “M-my name… is Amber…” she stuttered, more tears streaming down her face.

“(Y/N),” you answered, watching at Rire cut off her restraints. She rubbed at her rope burned wrists, and it reminded you of when you first got out of that chair yourself. Relief. Rire walked to the middle of the room, taking out a knife and dangling it lazily before dropping it to the floor. “Let’s play a game, yeah? I want you two to fight to the death. (Y/N), if you manage to kill Amber, you will have finally proven once and for all that you’re worthy of living.” He took off his glasses, staring you down with his pure yellow eyes. “And if she manages to kill _you_ , well… she isn’t exactly worth my time. She was just a random placeholder for you, so I guess you’ll both die in the end.” He then held up a finger. “I’ll give the two of you one hour. Good luck~.”

And with the snap of a finger, he disappeared into thin air.

You looked at the knife, then at Amber, hesitating for a moment. Amber leapt forward out of her chair, grabbing the knife before you even had a chance. Panicking, you raised both of your hands and backed up. “A-Amber, I don’t want to hurt you,” you tried to reason. She looked hurt, scared, and confused. You wondered how long she’d been in this room before today. Her fear turned to anger as he gripped the knife tighter.

“This is all YOUR fault!” she growled, striding towards you quickly. You tried to keep your distance, not wanting to get hurt, but she was walking quicker than you could back up. “I’m here because of YOUR mistake! And NOW I’M GOING TO DIE HERE NO MATTER WHAT I DO!” She swung the knife at you, slicing your arm deep enough to make you bleed. You grabbed her arm when she attempted to swing again, digging your nails into her wrist and punching her in the face with your free hand. She yelped and dropped the knife, clutching her face in shock. You grabbed the knife instead, distancing yourself from her with haste. Now she was _really_ scared.

“(Y/N), please… please don’t hurt me…” she scooted so her back was against the furthest wall away from you, staring at the knife in your hands in true terror.

“Don’t… hurt you?” you asked, glaring at her. If looks could kill, she’d be dead by now. Sadly, it wouldn’t pan out that way. That anger from when you were finally released from that dark room was starting to resurface and you couldn’t hold it. It didn’t matter if she was just doing what she had to to try to survive. She didn’t even give you a _chance_. At this point, you were sick ad tired of people taking advantage of you, tired of hesitating, tired of people hurting you. You giggled. And that giggle turned into full on laughter.

“You don’t want me to hurt you? Hahah, when were you going to grant me that same courtesy, Amber?” you took a step towards her and she pushed herself further onto the wall, as if she could sink into it. You took three more steps and she was covering her head with her arms, curling into a ball and sobbing. You knelt down in front of her trembling form and watched her look up at you, her eyes wincing at your very being. “I was just like you, y’know…? I was… scared when they brought me into this room. I didn’t know what they were gonna do to me here, how long they’d keep me alive until I wasn’t useful to them anymore. I fucking-“ you stopped yourself, taking a deep breath to collect your thoughts before continuing. “I got my answer. I didn’t want this to happen to you… and if I would’ve known then that others would get hurt from my very existence on this Earth, I would’ve just told them to kill me…”

Amber relaxed at your confessions, hesitantly dropping her arms and lifting her head. “You… You were just doing what you had to… I understand that. I know that you didn’t really want to hurt me…” you sighed, looking into her eyes.

“I hope that you can understand too. I’m just doing what I need to do to survive.” Before she could even notice what was happening, you plunged the knife into her gut. She let out a pained cry, gripping and scratching at your arms. You retracted it, then pushed it right back in. The knife went in so smoothly, like warm butter. Her screams made you feel bad for her, but it was just a small price to pay for living a longer life.

Amber grunted, lifting her leg up and kicking you square in the jaw. The impact forced your mouth shut and your body to fall backwards, teeth slamming against each other and making you dizzy. You cursed, trying to gain your composure. She swiftly stood over you, clutching her wounds as she stomped on your stomach with full force. “You’re just like those disgusting assholes out there! I fucking _HATE_ you! I don’t feel bad for hurting you. In fact, if they’re gonna kill me, I want you coming to hell right along with me!”

You stuck the knife in her leg when she stomped down again, then grabbed the leg and knocked her onto the floor.

You were sick of this game.

You stood on her chest, looking at her with the most disgusted face you could ever muster up. You repositioned the knife into both hands, dropping down and piercing her heart _hard_. She didn’t even get a chance to protest with how suddenly it happened, the only thing escaping her mouth being a whine, and then a blood-filled gurgle from her throat.

“If I’m going to hell, it’ll be on my own terms, you bitch…” you spat at her. You stabbed her over and over again until her eyes glazed over and her mouth went slack. Thoroughly exhausted, you dropped the knife and stood, looking around the room.

“I-… I did it!” you called out, staggering over to the door. You tried the doorknob, finding it unlocked. Rire was standing on the other side, leaning against the wall of the building. He glanced down at you, your hands and clothes covered in blood. He couldn’t help but smile, and it grew even wider when he peered into the room and saw the carnage for himself.

“Congratulations, (Y/N). You’ve earned your right to live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to follow my art Instagram @CometGrave!


	10. An Update On Your Life

Your night was filled with guilt about the atrocity you’d committed. Even though you were completely justified in killing Amber, you couldn’t help but feel… guilty. After all, she was just doing what she had to do, right…? She was scared. Just like you. You could still see her eyes in your mind when you skewered her heart. Staring at your shaking hands, you cried silently for hours and tried to get the image out of your mind. Ren must’ve sensed something, or just wanted to check on you out of sympathy, because he came to you in the middle of the night and sat at your bedside.

“Hey… (Y/N), are you okay…?” Ren whispered, rubbing your shoulder comfortingly. You didn’t respond immediately respond, instead opting to cry harder just from the question. You were trying not to cry too loudly as to not wake Strade, but it was getting hard to hold back.

“I’m a monster… I killed her, Ren… I-…” you whined and clutched his arm, tears streaming down your face. Ren just gazed at you sympathetically, placing his free hand on one of your arms. “It’s okay, (Y/N). All of us have killed someone in one way or another, and… I know how you feel. I didn’t want to kill people either when Strade made me help him, but… I guess it’s something you’ll have to get used to.” He seemed as if he was conflicted, tail swaying as he thought of something to help. Then suddenly, he perked up with an idea.

“Get up and come with me. I think I know how to help you,” he insisted, tugging you up out of bed. You follow along sluggishly to the living room and sit on the couch as Ren turned on the TV, casting the room in a bright blue light. He searched for something on the DVD rack and you didn’t bother to ask what he was looking for. He finally plucked a DVD out from the rest and slid it into the DVD player. “Here we go…” he whispered, going to sit with you on the couch. “Strade makes me watch these sometimes… It might help you get used to everything you’re going through.”

You sat back and watched as the screen went from blue to a shot of a random room. Looked like a home movie of sorts. But then you saw the familiar form of Strade in the video and you glanced over at Ren. You had a sinking feeling about what this would be about, and it didn’t take much longer to figure out that your suspicions were correct. The girl on the screen was being tortured and cut into by Strade, and he violated her in horrible ways in front of the camera in ways that you’d never imagined way possible. You watched her die on screen, all the while shaking and crying against Ren. He rubbed your arms for comfort, then got up to switch out the discs before coming to comfort you again. The two of you spent the next few hours of the night watching these ‘home videos’ made by Strade, some of them featuring Ren. He always looked to be terrified, fidgeting with this tail nervously and jumping whenever Strade had to ask him for anything. You felt… bad for him, seeing all the things he’d been through. Though, you were starting to become desensitized to the horrors on screen the more you watched on. It was about four in the morning before you fell asleep against Ren who accepted you with open arms.

It was a few more weeks until things felt mostly normal for you again. Rire figured that it would be a good idea to keep your schedule fairly full, so he set up a sort of training session between the two of you. He had a bit of a system for capturing unimportant captives, opting to just track down people from the missing persons registry and taking them from wherever they were being held just for you to kill them. It was rare that someone else in the community would offer up their useless captives to you to be killed, as they’d usually kill them themselves, but it did happen every now and again.

He also set up a training class of sorts with Vincent acting as your teacher. He was hardly forgiving with you, practically kicking your ass every afternoon. The first day he taught you, you cried and became so frustrated with him that you’d started punching him (though of course he never felt it much). Over the past week though, you’d actually learned some things, like dodging attacks.

Among those things as well, Rire had also decided to put you on camera duty. After all, you had to contribute to the community somehow, right? It was an easy job so far; Just keep an eye on the cameras. And if there’s any fighting between community members or someone in the community is hurt, you could call (with a button-type system built into the control panel rather than a phone) and report it to someone and they’d go to help out. Easy-peasy stuff. You were always either paired up with Sano or Akira, who you’d eventually figured out were twin brothers. Akira was fun to work with and would crack jokes about how boring this place was, while Sano was moreover cold and didn’t talk much to you. It was very easy to get used to after a few days.

Every Friday though, you got to have some time off for yourself to interact with other people in the community. For example, Farz. He was a pretty fun guy once you got to really know him, he was practically like a second best friend to you and would occupy your time along with Ren. Lawrence on the other hand, tended to stay away from you, or anyone for that matter. You kinda just figured he was shy, as that’s how he was when you met him at Strade’s party all those months ago. You didn’t mind though, you understood some people just needed time to get used to others, even if it takes a few months or years to do so…

Today was one of those Fridays where you got to relax with Farz in the common area, sunbathing in one of the pool chairs and cracking jokes. Everything was all good and chill until Rire walked up, looking a bit annoyed.

“(Y/N), come with me. You’ve got a bit of a situation on your hands,” he grumbled, tapping his foot on the cement ground. You cocked your eyebrow, following him to the security room.

“Am I in trouble…?” you couldn’t help but ask. You’d never been told that you had a ‘situation’ in the time you’ve been here, and it was so vague that you didn’t quite understand what was happening. Rire shook his head and snorting, leaning against the edge of the control panel. “No no, you’re not in trouble,” he reassured, quelling your anxiety for just a moment before he continued. “But _he_ will be if you don’t get him out of here.” He pointed to one of the screens, and you had to lean in to see properly. Once you did though, your features fell in shock.

“…Chris…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little short, I've been a little busy lately! But I assure you that the next chapter will be filled with pretty exciting stuff! <3


	11. Chris

“…Chris…?”

You watched from the security room as Chris banged on the door and pressed all of the doorbells to try and gain someone’s attention. ‘ _How did he find me…?_ ’ you wondered, then shook out the thought. It wasn’t important now, what mattered was that he was here and he’d be murdered if you didn’t do anything about this. Chris didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon so you had to do _something_.

“What do I do?” you asked Rire, turning to him fully. He turned to face you as well, shrugging. “Convince him to leave or I’ll kill him, it’s as simple as that. I’ve got a room set up with all of your stuff in it as we speak, think you can work with that?”

You contemplated it quickly, only having one request. “Boyfriend. I think it’ll be harder for him to want to drag me out if he thinks I have a boyfriend.”

He considered this option, then nodded in response. “Good thinking. I’ll send Lawrence up to stand in.” You looked at him like he was crazy. Lawrence didn’t like people, you couldn’t imagine how he’d react in this situation. Rire seemed to know exactly what he was doing by pairing the two of you together, smirking. “Take it or leave it. You want a boyfriend or what?”

Not wanting to lose out on a possibly good opportunity, you let out a hasty “Yes, I’ll take it.” Maybe you could figure out how to work with this, despite not knowing anything about him.

“Good. I’ll escort you then.”

Rire led you to your stand in apartment on the third floor. It did, in fact, have all of your stuff in it just like he said it would. All of your clothes were hung up and there was even decorations with colors you’d liked. Lawrence was sitting on the couch when you came in, looking nervous and not making eye contact.

“Hi, Lawrence,” you greeted gently. He looked up at you just a bit, letting out a tiny “Hi,” in response.

“Rire told you what you were here for right?” you asked, just wanting to make sure, and for good reason too as Lawrence seemed to be confused. “No, he just told me to come here… He didn’t tell me what for.”

You facepalmed, huffing in annoyance at Rire’s ability to make things so much harder for you. “Okay, so… One of my friends is coming up here and I need him to convince him to leave for good or he’s going to die. You’re here because I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

Lawrence tensed up, looking even more confused. “B-boyfriend? I don’t know how to be anyone’s boyfriend.”

“It’s just for pretend, just for a few minutes. Pleeeease?” you pleaded. He looked away, dreading the fact that he had no other choice but to go along with this. The two of you didn’t have time to make a solid plan before a knock pounded at the door. You looked back at Lawrence, trying to quell your fear. “I’ll do most of the talking, just act like everything is alright.” There was another knock on the door and you finally gathered up enough will to go answer it.

Chris stood on the other side, looking stressed. There was something about him that seemed… different. Had he been working out? As soon as he saw you, he rushed in to hug you tightly.

“(Y/N), there you are!” he huffed, as if he was holding his breath while waiting for you to answer. “Are you okay? No one hurt you, did they?” He let you go so you could breathe again, looking over your body to make sure you weren’t hurt.

“Y-yeah I’m alright. What are you doing here…?” You took a step back to gain some distance. If he saw all of your scars, they’d have no other choice but to kill him because he wouldn’t leave. Chris looked confused, but not because you moved away.

“What do you mean ‘why am I here’? You’ve been acting weird ever since you got here, and then you turned off your phone after telling me that you didn’t wanna be friends anymore… What’s been going on with you?”

“I…” you tried to remember the texts that had been sent to him, using them to your advantage. “I said what I said, Chris… I meant it, I don’t want to be friends anymore. I’m doing just fine here…” You looked back at Lawrence, who stood up and apprehensively walked to stand behind you. Chris looked up at him, almost startled by his presence. “Who are you?”

“I’m (Y/N)’s boyfriend,” Lawrence said simply, trying to sound a little more bold. Chris raised an eyebrow and looked down at you. “Your… boyfriend? What happened to- no, nevermind, it doesn’t matter. Is this why you’ve been doing all this? For some guy..?”

“No! I already told you, I just don’t think we should be friends anymore. He’s got nothing to do with it.”

“Then why?!” he yelled, and you backed up into Lawrence. “You promised me that we would still be in contact after you left and you broke that promise to me as soon as you got here! If you wanted to _‘Commit to a new beginning’_ , then maybe you should’ve said that _before_ you left.” 

You’d never seen him this angry before… You felt bad for him. After all, he didn’t know what you’d been through. He didn’t know you were trying to protect him. You didn’t wanna hurt his feelings, but it was what needed to be done, even if he didn’t want anything to do with you anymore if you were to get out of this place. With that, you thought of everything that could piss him off and spewed the words at him in a flurry of anger.

“Maybe I didn’t want to be friends with a _COWARD_ anymore!” you shouted, leaning forward. Now he was the one stepping back, eyes wide. “Maybe I got sick and tired of hearing you _whine_ and _complain_ about your wife that you won’t leave, pretending you’re the victim of every single situation between you two! Maybe I just got tired of fucking being around you!”

You felt your head jerk to the side as Chris punched you, pain blossoming from your cheek. You stumbled and fell over, Lawrence kneeling down to help and make sure you were okay. You glared up at Chris, blood dripping down your face from your nose. He looked fed-up with your bullshit.

“I… am _not_ a coward... I’m finished with people stepping all over me. And that includes you.” He looked away, walking over to the couch and trying to calm himself.

“Get out of our apartment…” Lawrence sighed, helping you stand up. He surprised you when he held you close, rubbing your arm tenderly and kissing your forehead. Damn he was convincing. “Don’t come back. We don’t want you here anymore.”

Chris looked at Lawrence, then to you, and then back at him sternly. “I’m not leaving without (Y/N). Something doesn’t feel right here, I swear it…”

“No!” You were starting to panic, hands shaking. If you didn’t think of something quick, he was going to get murdered. Where would we even go, Chris? Back to that bullshit city that screwed me over? Closer to my fucking ex-boyfriend? I’ll be damned if I go back to that place, and I’ll _definitely_ be damned if I let _you_ drag me back. I’m staying right where I am.”

Chris wasn’t going to drag you out of this place with your boyfriend at your side and end up getting his ass beat. “Fine… If you want to stay here, then fine. I won’t beg you to come with me. But just know that this decision is permanent, I don’t want you anywhere near me after I leave this place. Don’t text me, don’t call me, I don’t even want you asking about me from anyone I know…”

“Sounds good to me.” You retorted, hugging onto Lawrence. Chris stared at the both of you for a moment longer before heading to the door. This entire situation made you feel terrible. The last thing anyone wants to do is tear down their best friend. You wanted to apologize.

“Chris,” you called out swiftly, and he turned his head partially to face you.

”What.”

“I…” You swallowed thickly, weighing the possibilities of what could happen if you apologized. He’d definitely know something was wrong if you showed any remorse. So instead of apologizing, you just mumbled out a soft “Don’t tell anyone where I live.” Chris rolled his eyes, not even giving you the courtesy of a goodbye before opening the door.

The next events happened as suddenly as lightning. As soon as Chris fully opened the door, a familiar inky black tentacle swiped Chris’ body. It almost seemed as if it went right through him, like a ghost, but then he was kicked back into the room and you finally realized what had happened. Rire had sliced through Chris from hip to hip, splitting him in half. You and Lawrence watched in horror as he screamed and writhed in pain on the floor, gripping at where his thighs should’ve been, and it was only when his pained, tear stained face looked up to you that you could push yourself to move.

“CHRIS!” you hollered, dropping with a large _thud_ to your knees at his side. “I-I’m sorry! This wasn’t supposed to happen, I’m so-… I’m so sorry…” You looked at Rire, grimacing through hot tears. “What are you _DOING_?! You said you wouldn’t kill him if I got him to leave!”

“You didn’t think I’d actually let him out of this place, did you?” Rire snickered, tentacles hovering around him menacingly. “After all, _who knows_ what might happen if he spills where you are to some less-than-savory people? You’ve got missing persons posters out there for sure.”

You stood and stormed your way into his direction, punching at him to no avail. He whipped you across the face with one of his larger tentacles, leaving your vision spinning in circles so quickly that you had no other choice but to kneel again. “Don’t be an insolent brat, (Y/N)… That’ll get you nowhere.” He sneered down at you as you started to regain some of your composure back, and you looked back at Chris. He was bleeding out badly from his wounds, and he was starting to look weak. You crawled back over to him as quickly as possible, gripping onto his shirt.

“Chris, I’m sorry… I don’t hate you, I swear…” you blabbered, tears falling onto his terrified face.

“Why… didn’t you just say something..?” he pried, teeth gritting together.

“ I thought I could save you by pushing you away, but h-he tricked me. You shouldn’t have come here… I swear to you that I still considered you my best friend, even if you didn’t after all this time...”

“This is sweet and all, but we really should be getting this done and over with,” Rire butt in, walking closer. You ignored him, holding onto Chris tighter. “I-I love you... Everything is going to be okay, I promise… I promise…” You sobbed uncontrollably, placing your head on his chest. He placed a shaky hand on your leg, grunting at the effort.

“(Y/N)… I’m sorry I didn’t come for you sooner… I just wanted my best friend back…” he exhaled breathily.

And with that, another black tentacle pierced Chris’ chest, right beside your head. Feeling his body tense up and ultimately fall limp under yours made you sob harder. Lawrence hurried over to you, trying to console you physically, only succeeding in having you push him off of you. Lawrence didn’t know how to deal with something like this, so he instead opted to keep his hands off of you. He looked at Rire for some sort of guidance on what to do, but Rire didn’t exactly seem to notice or care.

You were inconsolable at this point, didn’t want anyone to touch or speak to you and you put up a fight when someone tried. Rire ultimately had to knock you out to be able to peel you from the corpse of your best friend without fighting back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rest in Pieces, homie 😩❤


End file.
